FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Vancouver, BC / unceded Coast Salish Territories – The BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) will present arguments at the BC Supreme Court in the two-day injunction hearing of Vancouver Island University v Sara Kishawi et al beginning today. Vancouver Island University (VIU) is requesting a court injunction to remove the small student Palestinian solidarity encampment from the VIU campus. The Nanaimo RCMP have stated that they will not remove the encampment without one. 

The BCCLA will argue that the common law must evolve to reflect the impacts of an injunction on our core Charter rights: freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Judicial discretion must always be exercised in accordance with the Charter because its principles are fundamental to the Canadian legal order and our liberal democratic society. This is true even in a dispute involving private property. The Supreme Court of Canada has been clear that free expression must be protected unless its curtailment is exceptionally justified. Therefore, the courts must assess the necessity and proportionality of restricting students’ Charter rights before granting the injunction. 

“The courts must take account of essential Charter protections for free expression and assembly when issuing injunctions. Students must be able to confidently rely on their Charter rights. Seeking and attaining the truth, as well as participation in social and political decision-making, are at the core of why we protect free expression. Private property is not a magical override for constitutional rights.”

Ga Grant, BCCLA Litigation Staff Counsel 

“Courts are increasingly thrust into the role of policing protests through injunctions. That law should reflect the Charter and its protections, for all of us.”

Kyle Thompson, pro bono counsel for the BCCLA 

The BCCLA is represented by Kyle Thompson, Laésha Smith, and Ben Clarke of Poulus Ensom Smith LLP with assistance from Karen Mirsky.